September 6, 2006: Excellence in Scholarship Recognized at Annual Meeting of Political Scientists APSA Press Release

Washington, DC--Recognizing excellence in the study of politics is a core activity of the American Political Science Association.  To bring attention to exceptional scholarship the Association has a number of awards for books, dissertations, research papers and articles, and career achievement. Through the years these awards have played an important role in contributing to the careers of their recipients while marking significant breakthroughs in the study of politics.

The 2006 awards were granted at the 102^nd APSA Annual Meeting, which took place in Philadelphia from August 31-September 3.  This year's recipients included:

Book Awards:
Lisa Garcia Bedolla (University of California, Berkeley) received the Ralph J. Bunche Award for the best scholarly work in political science published in the previous calendar year which explores the phenomenon of ethnic and cultural pluralism.  Her book is entitled Fluid Borders: Latino Power, Identity, and Politics in Los Angeles (University of California Press, 2005).

Suzanne B. Mettler (Syracuse University) and Jonas Pontusson (Princeton University) were co-recipients of the Gladys Kammerer Award for the best political science publication in the field of U.S. national policy. Her book is entitled Soldiers to Citizens: The G.I. Bill and the Making of the Greatest Generation (Oxford University Press); his is Inequality and Prosperity: Social Europe vs. Liberal America (A Century Foundation Book,Cornell University Press)

Valentine M. Moghadam (UNESCO) received the Victoria Schuck Award for the best book published in the previous calendar year on women and politics.  Her book is entitled Globalizing Women: Transnational Feminist Networks (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005).

Philip E. Tetlock (University of California, Berkeley) received the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for the best book published in the U.S. during the previous calendar year on government, politics, or international affairs (supported by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation).  His book is entitled Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know? (Princeton University Press, 2005)

Dissertation Awards:
Mathew Kocher (University of Chicago) received the Gabriel A Almond Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of comparative politics entitled ""Human Ecology and Civil War."

Joon Suk Kim (University of Chicago) received the William Anderson Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of state and local politics, federalism, or intergovernmental relations on the topic of state formation in medieval and early modern Europe.

Justin Wert (University of Pennsylvania) received the Edward S. Corwin Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of public law entitled "The Not-So-Great Writ: Habeas Corpus and American Political Development."

Jonathon Ari Laurence (Harvard University) received the Harold D. Lasswell Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of policy studies (supported by the Policy Studies Organization) on "Managing Transnational Religion."

Alexander B. Downes, (University of Chicago) received the Helen Dwight Reid Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of international relations, law and politics (supported by the Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation) entitled "Targeting Civilians in Wartime."

Robert W. Mickey (Harvard University) received the E.E. Schattschneider Award For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of American government on the decay of authoritarian enclaves in America's Deep South from 1944-1972.

Xavier Marquez (University of Notre Dame) received the Leo Strauss Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of political philosophy on political knowledge in Plato's Statesman.

David Pitts (University of Georgia) received the Leonard D. White Award
for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of public administration on diversity, representation, and performance in public organizations.

Paper and Article Awards:
Jennifer Hochschild (Harvard University) and Susan Stokes (Yale University) received the Heinz Eulau Award for the best articles published in the American Political Science Review and Perspectives on Politics during the previous calendar year.

Dawn Brancati (Harvard University) received the Franklin L. Burdette/Pi Sigma Alpha Award for the best paper presented at the previous annual meeting entitled "The Impact of Political Decentralization on Ethnic Conflict and Secessionism."

Career Awards:
Kenneth J. Meier (Texas A&M University) received the John Gaus Award to honor a lifetime of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration and to recognize achievement and encourage scholarship in public administration.

William A. Galston (The Brookings Institution) received the Hubert H. Humphrey Award  in recognition of notable public service by a political scientist.

Mark Danner (University of California, Berkeley) received the Carey McWilliams Award to honor a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics.

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The American Political Science Association (est. 1903) is the leading professional organization for the study of politics and has over 14,000 members in 80 countries. For more news and information about political science research visit the APSA media website, www.politicalsciencenews.org.